I was blown out of the water on that whole "biggest piano" contest. I just couldn't compete. Bummer.

But I think I can nail every one of you on who spends the most on each trip to the barber/hairdresser.

I spend . . . geez, this is almost embarrasing to admit . . . $100 + tip every six weeks for a trim and perm. I don't have enough grey to need color -- yet.

Ha! Top *that!*

Cindy -- whose dh has stopped asking how much those locks cost and just accepts it now

I pay nothing because I cut my own hair.

Ballyhoo:

:raises arms in victory:

I am *so* gonna win!

Yup - You beat me too Cindy. I used to spend a lot, but since I quit getting perms I have a tendency to chop on my top too.

What could I win at? Hmmm - I'm thinking maybe money spent on feeding animals, but it would have to exclude anyone who herds cows or raises animals commercially!

Oh Geez, I and swear I never post here. This caught my attention as I was finally getting here to take a look at Jeannie's new piano (teachum's been bugging me for 2 days).
Sorry Cindy, but I can top you and I'm not proud of it. Currently spending about $210 every 6-8 weeks due to an issue with color (AKA old age) that is taking a while to correct. Also, the place I go charges way too much. I usually stop at the bank first and take out a loan, sign away my first born (these days that would be my beloved sable sheltie) and then go lay my money down.
No wonder I'm broke these days!

But AdagioLady - this ISN'T the CR! This is a nice place.

Poor Cindy - outdone again.

Oh yeah, I didn't notice. I was following the links at the right. Anyway, I guess I get the prize for now....

Adagio, no offense, but judging from your avatar you have a lot of cosmetic issues which need attention before hair!

She really does, doesn't she Eusebius?

LOL!
Yep, that's me. Lots of cometic issues, hence the high number!

Teachum,
better watch it. I seem to recall that there might be a thread where BOTH of our cosmetic issues could be exposed.....

Yup - And I was going to move it here, but I can't seem to find it. Darn. Guess I'll go play.

$210?! Zowies. I quit going to my hair dresser because the cut and color and highlight every 6 weeks was killing my budget. So I found another hairdresser for the cut ($24) and I do the color myself. Preference, by Loreal. ($9).

So, how much do you guys tip your hairdressers, anyway? I was never sure if they were supposed to get a percentage, or a flat amount.

Jodi

Man Jodi - that's almost Idaho prices. How'd you find someone so inexpensive in Seattle. I don't tip if it's the owner - which is what my hairdresser is. I haven't been to someone who isn't the owner for quite awhile.

AdagioLady:

*DOH!* Hey, ya gotta pay whatever it takes to look good, right? Looking like a million bucks doesn't cost a million bucks, so what's to complain about?

OK, what category can I nail? Hmmm, I don't take prescription drugs these days, so that won't do it. My dogs are healthy, so that won't work. I have to pay bar membership fees in three states, but it's really not all that much . . .

Wait, I've got it! I have amassed the single highest utility bill for a single-family home of anyone at PW!

A few years ago I opened my water bill (which covers 3 months, I think). It is normally between $200-$300. This bill was for **$1800**!!

Ha! I thought. Some bozo at the water department made a mistake. I called and asked for a meter reading. The answer came back: $1800.

I got on the phone and asked what the sam hill was going on. Some kind of underground leak, perhaps? Maybe terrorists had tapped into my water line to poison everyone in the D.C. area?

The explanation, it turned out, was that our basement toilet was running. Just a continuous stream because something was broken that prevented it from shutting off, nothing to write home about. We had someone living down there at the time, and she told me about the toilet, but hey, I'm a busy lady, and it's just a toilet.

The water department gave us our One-Time Lifetime Toilet Exemption whereby they waive 1/2 of the bill for a running toilet, so I only had to cut a check for $900.

Oh, and the toilet needed some simple part that cost about $7 at Home Depot.

Do I win?

Cindy -- who listens to her toilets carefully now

I'm calling a plumber tomorrow! We've had dripping faucets for a few months now, made only worse by my attempts to fix them myself.

Stooopid washerless fixtures!

On the tipping thing: I've always heard that you should tip your hairdresser (or stylist or whatever we're supposed to call 'em) IF they are renting a chair in a salon, but no tip if they own the salon. I usually just sort of "round up" as a tip... so for my routine haircut of $45, I give $50 and call it a day.

Lately I've been two-timing my hairdresser, because $45 is sooo too much to pay for my, um, "style." So I go to SuperCuts for my regular haircuts ($13!), then my fancy person for the heavy lifting. I don't color my hair, but I do "augment" my natural beauty. (In other words, I get a weave every 3 months or so.)

I have to bring my checkbook for that... $125!!

I do the 15% thing even though the owner does my hair. I figure if the tip is for good service and my fella gives good service, he gets a tip.

What I can never sort out is tipping the wash person, the chemical person and the blow-dry person. The owner does the cut and style, I add the 15% tip to the credit card, and I leave it to them to fight like hyenas over it. I've never felt comfortable wandering the salon pressing single dollars into their wet hands.

I spend roughly £45.00 a year at the hairdressers. That's £15.00 three times a year.
Mind you, I am a slob.

Well - I Idaho we don't have all those fancy services. The reason I don't tip the owner is because that's what I was told by an owner. Hope I'm not just being a cheapskate. Although - on teacher's salary I sort of am.

I think I'll go for who spends the most on animals in a year - commercial people excluded.

Off the top of my head I'm going to say that my animals cost me about $2,500 - $3,000 a year. I'll have to do a bit more thinking anditemization. On the other hand, maybe I won't because I've never wanted to be honest about what two horses, five dogs and two cats cost me.

Five dogs?

What kind?

Any pics?

Two smooth-haired fox terriers, one malemute/newfie mix, one german sheperd (mostly), and one lab mix. All pound or found puppies. There is a pic of the fox terriers on Show me your dogs thread.....I'll see if I can find it.
http://www.pianoworld.com/ubb/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?/topic/10/5579.html

My terriers are the first on the thread/

I have a new dog pics -- of the all-grown-up-now Aussie and the poodle who wishes we had never gotten the Aussie. I'm tech challenged, but I'll try to upload it.

Hey, I'm getting better at this tech stuff!

What cuties - Have they eaten any cookbooks lately? It's really snowing here so I should get out and take some pix of the big dogs in the snow. They love it!

Thanks, Teachum,

Big dog chewed up my comforter, so he doesn't get much freedom. In this pic, he is lying on a plastic bag for some reason. Little dog doesn't chew up anything; he just rats out the other one.

Hey, how can I scale down this pic?

I'm not too great at the photo thing either. Mine always come out too big too. I did the dog ones through Photobucket and they give you an option of size.

Haircut: $55 every 5-6 weeks

Highlighting: $110 every 3-4 months

I used to think my hair expenses were pretty steep until I read this thread. Now I think Adagiolady wins with Cindy taking a close second.

Yep, and I seem to be the cheapskate.
Just call me Teddy Tightnuts from now on.

Teddy Tightnuts?? A friend of Fanny Frugal's?

wow, i guess there are advantages to living out in the boonies. i reluctantly shell out $28 for a haircut about 3x a year. if it wasn't getting in my eyes, it would be less often. if it wasn't for it being curly, i would probably just chop it off myself with sewing scissors.

but i remember when i lived back east, haircuts were over $100 even in the '70s!

don't have to dress up out here, either. all my fashionable nyc clothes hang unused in the closet. somehow i just can't bear to give up my bottega veneta red silk slingbacks, though who knows if i'll ever have occasion to wear them again. i can get by with patagonia and land's end just fine here. i keep thinking i'll have need of a little black dress, but they sit forlornly on their hangers, gathering dust.

I cut, dye, and highlight my hair.

I dye just the top 1/2 of my hair a shade lighter than it's natural color, add just a bit of red highlight with natural henna.. just one one plane of hair below the top hairs, then streak over the dyed hair by binding little chunks with twine and soaking it lightly in peroxide.. Sound complicated but it's easy.

I've cut my hair since I was 17. I do a trim, then continue to trim as the week progresses until it's perfect..


I really enjoy messing with it. it's kind of like artwork.

Hm, my mother goes EVERY week, and it is usually $30+. I guess added together over the course of your six weeks, there goes your chance of winning! (But maybe she doesn't qualify because I post here, not her.. )

Oh, plus tip too. Don't ask me why every week, I can barely notice the difference, but its one of those routine things that you get used to, I guess.

Being crowned Ms. Piano World: Priceless

Women should sue.

I pay $12 at a barber.

Just to rub it in some more, ladies...

$16 + $4 tip every four weeks or so for my haircut.

Well, I probably spend more than any man here for my haircut. My haircutter comes to my apartment to cut my hair approximately every 7 to 8 weeks and I pay him $65. I have appointments set for the entire year 2005 already! HaHa.